Foldable umbrella

ABSTRACT

A foldable umbrella comprising a center pole and main ribs formed of telescopically slidable members that are so arranged as to be opened or closed by movable rings slidably mounted on the center pole. Both the center pole and the main ribs are automatically opened by spring means in engagement with the movable rings and the pole members, and are substantially reduced in size owing to the telescoping of their members when the umbrella is manually closed.

nited States Patent Inventor Gonzaburo Hayano 8 Takauda Hondori 6-chome, Higashiosaka-shi, Osaka-fu, Japan Appl. No. 30,721 Filed Apr. 22, 1970 Patented Dec. 7, 1971 Priorities Oct. 6, 1969 Japan 44/95626;

Oct. 7, 1969, Japan, No. 44/95929; Oct. 8,

1969, Japan, No. 44/963177 FOLDABLE UMBRELLA 4 Claims, 15 Drawing Figs.

1.1.8. Cl 135/22, 135/44 Int. Cl A45b 25/16 Field of Search 135/22-26, 44, 46 T References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 569,762 10/1896 McIntyre 135/44 7/1910 Durano. 135/44 10/1914 Fretz 135/22 4/1924 Schlesinger 135/44 X 3/1933 Haupt 135/23 X 1/1940 Jostes 135/22 4/1955 Zimmermann et a1.. 135/22 3/1959 Zimmermann 135/23 9/1959 135/22 11/1959 Granrath 135/46 T FORElGN PATENTS 9/1966 Great Britain 135/24 Primary Examiner-Peter M. Caun Attorney-Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn & Macpeak ABSTRACT: A foldable umbrella comprising a center pole and main ribs formed of telescopically slidable members that are so arranged as to be opened or closed by movable rings slidably mounted on the center pole. Both the center pole and the main ribs are automatically opened by spring means in engagement with the movable rings and the pole members, and are substantially reduced in size owing to the telescoping of their members when the umbrella is manually closed.

PATENTED nEn 7197:

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SHEET 3 UF 3 INVENTOR HAM/Y0 4K onmsm 22AM f yln IFOLDABLE UMBRELLA BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an umbrella and more particularly to an improvement of an automatically openable, foldable umbrella of the type in which the ribs of the umbrella may be automatically expanded or opened as the center pole thereof is unlocked by a one-touch operation and extended upwardly, thereby opening the canopy; and when the center pole is reduced in length, the ribs also reduced in length and folded into a compact state, thereby improving portability of the umbrella.

In the conventional umbrella of the character described above, the umbrella ribs comprise a plurality of main ribs that are pivotally fixed or hinged at one end to an upper ring fixed to a ferrule which in turn is fixed to the upper end of the center pole, a plurality of supporting ribs for supporting the main ribs when opened and a plurality of auxiliary ribs for opening or closing the supporting ribs and consequently the main ribs. The supporting and auxiliary ribs have their one ends pivotally fixed or hinged to a pair of upper and lower rings slidably fitted over the center pole of the umbrella. When the umbrella is closed, the lower ring is locked in position by means of a locking member disposed in the center pole so as to be extended beyond and retracted into the center pole. When the lower ring is released from the locking member, it is caused to move upwardly toward the ferrule by means of a spring interposed between said pair of upper and lower rings, thereby opening the umbrella.

However, there has not been proposed an umbrella of the type described above in which the umbrella may be folded in a compact configuration, that is, where the main ribs of the umbrella may be reduced in length when the umbrella is closed so as to improve the portability of the umbrella and reduce the storage space thereof. Therefore, one must carry or store the umbrella having a relatively long length when closed, and such an umbrella is not convenient to carry or store.

There has been known a so-called foldable umbrella in which the main ribs may be bent or telescopically reduced in length when the center pole is reduced in size, thereby providing an umbrella that is compact in size when closed or folded. But the umbrella of this type must be opened or closed manually, not automatically.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved umbrella which can be automatically opened immediately when so desired and can be folded into a compact state when closed, thereby remarkably improving the portability of the umbrella.

In brief, in accordance with the present invention, the center pole of the umbrella may be comprised of telescopically slidable members and the main ribs may be comprised of telescopically slidable members and so arranged as to be opened or closed through movable rings slidably fitted over the center pole. Both the center pole and the main ribs may be immediately automatically opened upon release of a locking member and may be immediately reduced in length when the center pole is manually reduced in size when the umbrella is closed. Therefore, the length of the umbrella when closed and folded may be reduced almost one-half of the length when opened, and the portability of the umbrella is much improved while the storage space may be much reduced.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the umbrella comprises a main or center pole comprising large and small diameter pipes fitted with each other for slidable movement and a spring for coupling said large and small diameter pipes; a middle and lower ring slidably fitted over said center pole and spaced apart from each other by means of a spring for automatically opening the umbrella; a plurality of main ribs fixed to an upper ring fixed to the upper end of said large diameter pipe of said center pole; a plurality of supporting ribs having one end pivoted to said middle ring and the other end pivoted to said main ribs respectively; a plurality of auxiliary ribs having one end pivoted to said lower ring and the other end pivotally fixed to said supporting ribs respectively; a resilient member disposed within said small diameter pipe of said center pole and having large and small pawls which may be freely extended beyond said small diameter pipe and withdrawn therein for releasable engagement with said center pole and said lower ring; each of said main ribs being comprised of a U-shaped rib, one end of which is pivotally fixed to said fixed upper ring and a round rib which is supported by said supporting rib and is slidably fitted into said U-shaped rib; and a receiving member for receiving therein the lower ends of said main ribs, said member being axially slidably fitted over said small diameter pipe of said center pole through a spring and provided with engaging means for engagement with said large pawl of said resilient member and a guide surface for automatically receiving said lower ends of said main ribs in said receiving member.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the spring interposed between said middle and lower rings for automatically opening the umbrella is comprised of a pair of upper and lower coiled springs, the directions of their windings being opposite to each other.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, a damping spring is fitted over the main or center pole immediately below the upper fixed ring of the center pole, the lower end of this spring being free.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of one embodiment of an umbrella of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side view illustrating a folded or closed state thereof before full reduction of its length;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale of the umbrella shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 5- 5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a side view illustrating the folded or closed umbrella after substantially full reduction of its length;

FIG. It) is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the engagement of the middle and lower rings with the resilient member when the umbrella is folded or closed;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. I0 but illustrating the middle and lower rings and resilient member when the umbrella is opened;

FIGS. 12 and 13 are sectional views illustrating one embodiment of a receiving member adapted to receive therein the ends of the main ribs when the umbrella is closed; and

FIGS. 14 and 15 are partial sectional views showing a guide surface on the receiving member for automatically inserting the ends of the main ribs in the receiving member.

Referring to FIG. I, a main umbrella shaft or center pole 1 comprises a large diameter pipe 2 having at its upper end a ferrule 36 and an upper ring 17 and a small diameter pipe 4 telescopically slidably fitted into the large diameter pipe 2. To the upper fixed ring 17 are pivoted the adjacent ends of ribs 20 each of which comprises a rib 20a that is U-shaped in cross section and a round rib 20b slidably fitted into the U-shaped rib 20a. A middle ring 18 is slidably fitted over the main shaft I and a lower ring 19 is also slidably fitted over the main shaft 1 and is made integral with a sleeve 24. Between the middle and lower rings 18 and 19 is interposed a spring 25 for automatically opening the umbrella. One end of each of the supporting ribs 21 is pivoted to the middle ring 18 and the other end 21 is pivoted to the round rib 20b of the main rib 20,

thereby supporting the same. One end of each of auxiliary ribs 22 is pivoted to the lower ring 19 while the other end thereof is pivoted to the intermediate portion of the adjacent supporting rib 21.

A handle 33 is fixed to the lower end of the small diameter pipe 4 of the center pole l and a rib end receiving or holding member 29 is slidably fitted over the small diameter pipe 4 above the handle 33 and is formed integral with a sleeve 32 having a slot 31 that is adapted to receive a pawl 14 of a trigger or actuating member 15.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 8 illustrating the details of the components of the umbrella in accordance with the present invention, the small diameter pipe 4 slidably fitted into the large diameter pipe 2 is provided with a groove 3 extending in the axial direction and at the joint portions, that is the upper end of the small diameter pipe 4 and the lower end of the large diameter pipe 2, are formed a pair of opposed holes 5 in the pipe 4 into which are fitted balls 6 respectively by means of a plate spring 7. A stopper pin 8 extends transversely relative to the axis of the large diameter pipe 2 in such a manner that one end 8 of this stopper pin 8 extends into the axial groove 3 of the small diameter pipe 4. At the lower end portion of the large diameter pipe 2 is formed an engaging slot 16 and engaging holes 9 for engagement with the pawl 13 and balls 6, respectively. Furthermore, an engaging pawl 10 is projected inwardly so as to engage with the one end 8' of the stopper pin 8. A spring 11 is loaded into the large diameter pipe 2 with its upper end 11' being fixed to a fixed pin 36' of the ferrule 36 while the lower end 11' is supported upon the upper end surface 4' of the small diameter pipe 4.

At the lower end portion of the small diameter pipe 4 is formed a slot 12 through which a small pawl 13 of the trigger is adapted to extend beyond the small diameter pipe 4 and to be withdrawn therein. The trigger 15 having the large and small pawls 13 and 14 has its one end 15' pivoted to the small diameter pipe 4, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 11, in such a manner that the lower surface of the trigger 15 is in contact with the inner surface of the small diameter pipe 4, thereby permitting the displacement of the trigger 15 by its own elasticity.

The ring 18 is made integral with the sleeve 23 extending downwardly (to the right in FIG. 11) and a recess or hollow portion 26 is formed in the sleeve 24 of the lower ring 19 so as to receive therein the spring 25 into which is fitted the sleeve 23 of the middle ring 18. The upper end of the spring 25 is supported by the flanged portion of the middle ring 18 while the lower end is supported by the bottom of the recess 26. At the lower portion of the sleeve 24 of the lower ring 19 are formed engaging slots 27 and 28 for engagement with the small and large pawls l3 and 14 respectively.

Each of the main ribs comprises the U-shaped rib 20a, the upper end of which is pivoted to the upper ring 17 and the lower end of which has a ring 35 fixed thereto and the round rib 20b which is slidably fitted into the U-shaped rib 20a through the ring 35. The upper end 20b of the round rib 20b is pivoted to the upper end 21' of the supporting rib 21 through a mounting member 35'. The upper end 22' of each auxiliary rib 22 is pivoted to the adjacent intermediate portion of the supporting rib 21.

The receiving member 29 has a groove 30 for receiving therein dropletlike members 20' of the main ribs 20 and is made integral with the sleeve 32 having the engaging groove 31 for engagement with the big pawl 14 of the trigger 15. The receiving member 29 is loosely fitted into the handle 33 fixed to the lower end of the center pole l and a spring 34 is interposed between the bottom of the receiving member 29 and the bottom of the handle 33.

A damping spring 37 is fitted over the main pole 1 immediately below the fixed upper ring 17 which is positioned below the ferrule 36. At the lower end of the large diameter pipe 2 is formed a projection 38 which is adapted to engage with the groove 3 for preventing the rotation of the large diameter pipe 2 relative to the small diameter pipe 4. Similarly a projection 39 is formed in the receiving member 29 as best shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, guide means is provided within the groove 30 of the receiving member 29 for automatically and snugly receiving therein the droplet-shaped members 20 of the main ribs 20. That is, the upper peripheral wall portion surrounding the groove 30 is provided with a tapered guide surface 40 so that the dropletlike members 20' may be smoothly guided along the guide surface 40 into the groove The spring 25 interposed between the lower and middle rings 19 and 18 for automatically opening the umbrella may be one coiled spring, but as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the spring 25 may be comprised of upper and lower springs 41 and 42. In this case, the upper coiled spring 41 is a left-handed coiled spring while the lower spring 42 is a right-handed coiled spring and they are arranged in series.

Next the mode of operation of the umbrella in accordance with the present invention will be described. We assume that the umbrella is wide opened as shown in FIG. 1. First the middle and lower rings 18 and 19 are caused to move downwardly toward the handle 33 by holding the sleeve 24 while the spring 25 between the middle and lower rings 18 and 19 is compressed and the small and large pawls 13 and 14 are depressed into the small diameter pipe 4 by means of the sleeve 24 and then engaged with the engaging slots 27 and 28 respectively. Next the receiving member 29 is caused to move slightly downwardly against the spring 34 so that the dropletlike members 20' of the main ribs 20 are fitted into the groove 30. Thereafter, the receiving member 29 is automatically returned to its normal or initial position by means of the spring 34 so that the dropletlike members 20' may be securely held in position. In this case, the big pawl 14 of the trigger 15 is slightly depressed into the slot 12, but the engagement of the big pawl 14 with and the release of the pawl 14 from the engaging slot 28 are not affected at all. This is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

In this state, the ferrule 36 is pushed toward the handle 33 so that the large diameter pipe 2 of the center pole 1 causes the balls 6 to move down in the holes 9 against the plate spring 7 and also causes the small diameter pipe 4 to slide downwardly against the spring 11. In this case, the groove 3 of the smaller diameter pipe 4 serves as a guide. Simultaneously, the round rib 20b of the main rib 20 is fitted into the U-shaped rib 200 while being supported by the supporting rib 21. When the large diameter pipe 2 is further lowered, its lower portion 2' passes through the gap between the small diameter pipe 4 and the sleeve 23 and is held in position by means of the small pawl 13 of the trigger 15 as shown in FIG. 10. Thus it is seen that the length of the umbrella is reduced to one-half of the total length thereof as shown in FIG. 9. The canopy of the umbrella may be folded in a well-known manner. Thus, the umbrella is completely closed.

To open the umbrella, the receiving member 29 is pushed downwardly against the spring 34 so that the dropletlike members 20' of the main ribs 20 may be released from the groove 30 and extending slightly outwardly as shown in FIG. 11. In this case, because of the downward movement of the sleeve 32 of the receiving member 29, the big pawl 14 of the trigger 15 is depressed into the slots 12 and 31 so that the small pawl 13 made integral with the big pawl 15 is caused to be depressed entirely into the slot 12, whereby engagement with the groove 16 of the large diameter pipe 2 may be released. Therefore, the large diameter pipe 2 is immediately forced to move upwardly by the spring 11 until the engaging pawl 10 engages with the one end 8' of the stopper pin 8 of the small diameter pipe 4. When the large diameter pipe 4 is completely pushed up to its uppermost position, the balls 6 extend again into the ball-receiving holes 9 of the large diameter pipe 2, thereby establishing the rigid joint between the large and small diameter pipes 2 and 4. In this case, the U-shaped rib 20a of the main rib 20 is caused to move upwardly of the round rib 20. Thus, the rib 20 is extended to its full length shown in FIG. 2.

When the receiving member 29 is forced downwardly against the spring 34, the big pawl 14 is completely depressed into the slot 12 so that the engagement with the groove 28 of the lower ring sleeve 24 is released, whereby the middle ring 18 is caused to move upwardly by the spring 25 between the middle and lower rings 18 and 19 until it abuts against the damping spring 37 together with the lower ring 19. Thus, the umbrella may be wide opened as shown in FIG. 1.

From the foregoing, it is seen that upon pushing downwardly the ferrule, the center pole 1 may be reduced to one-half of its length substantially equal to that of the large diameter pipe 2. This reduced state may be firmly held by the elasticity of the spring interposed between the large and small diameter pipes 2 and 4 and the engagement of the engaging groove 16 of the large diameter pipe 2 with the small pawl 13 of the trigger 15. By moving downwardly the receiving member 29, the engagement of the small pawl 13 with the engaging groove 16 of the large diameter pipe 2 is readily released so that the umbrella may be automatically wide opened immediately by the returning force of the spring 11. The operation of pushing down the receiving member 29 for releasing the engagement of the small pawl 13 with the engaging groove 16 may be advantageously associated with the further downward movement of the receiving member 29 for automatically opening the umbrella. Furthermore, the construction in accordance with the present invention can facilitate the assembly of the umbrella.

When the tapered guide surface 40 is formed so as to surround the groove 30 in order to automatically fit therein the dropletlike members 21) of the main ribs 20, the dropletlike members 21) abut against the tapered guide face 40 when the main ribs 20 are closed or converged toward the center pole 1 by the above-described umbrella-closing operation and caused to move inwardly toward the center pole. In this case, the receiving member 29 is moved downwardly as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 14 so that the dropletlike members 20' may be completely moved toward the center pole 1 while moving downwardly the guide surface 40. Thereafter the receiving member 29 is returned to its normal or initial position by the returning force of the spring 34 so that the dropletlike members 20' may be automatically received in the groove 30 of the receiving member 29. This arrangement of the present invention can eliminate the troublesome operation of the conventional umbrella in which the main ribs are converged together by one hand while by the hand the receiving member is once lowered and then raised again. That is, the operation by both hands can be eliminated. According to the present invention, by only one hand operation the main ribs 20 may be converged toward the center pole 1 and the dropletlike members 20 thereof may be automatically received in the groove of the receiving member, thereby ensuring and facilitating the speedy opening and closing operation of the foldable umbrella.

When the spring 25 for automatically opening the umbrella is comprised of the pair of right-handed and left-handed coiled springs 41 and 42, the following advantages can be accrued from the present invention. While the operation of the invention will not be adversely affected when a single coiled spring is used, it is noted that the middle and lower rings 18 and 19 fitted over the center pole 1 are imparted with the torsional moment in the direction opposite to the direction of the winding of the coiled spring 25. Therefore, the supporting ribs 21 and the auxiliary ribs 22 pivoted to the middle and lower rings respectively will be subjected to the torsion by the torsional moment so that the pivoted or hinged portions of these ribs may be displaced. In this case, the engaging position between the trigger and the lower ring 19 will be deviated from the normal position. On the other hand, if the right-handed and left-handed coiled springs 41 and 42 are employed in accordance with the present invention, the torsional moments in the opposite directions will be cancelled so that the middle and lower rings will not be subjected to the torsional stress. Therefore, the supporting and auxiliary ribs may be free from the torsional stress and the engaging position between the lower ring 19 and the trigger 15 may remain unchanged.

Furthermore, in case of the single spring, the repetitive load is exerted thereon whenever the umbrella is opened and closed so that when the cycle of the repetitive load is equal to the natural frequency of the spring, a resonance is caused, thereby generating a large stress. In such a case, the spring may be damaged. Therefore, in design the allowable stress must be made small. Since the coiled springs 41 and 42 are arranged in series in accordance with the present invention, the overall spring constant may be made small so that not only the springs but also other associated components may be ensured with the rigidness and long service life or durability.

The damping spring 37 is arranged below the ferrule 36 with the lower end being free so that the upward movement of the middle ring 18 caused by the spring 25 may be damped when the umbrella is opened. Therefore, the impact or vibrations caused by the abrupt collision of the middle ring 18 with the ferrule 36 may be prevented from being applied to the overall frame structure of the umbrella including the main, supporting and auxiliary ribs 20, 21 and 22, thereby also ensuring the du' rability of the umbrella even when it is opened and closed many times under severe conditions.

The present invention has been so far described with particular reference to the illustrative embodiment thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected without departing from the true spirit of the present invention as described hcreinabove and as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatically openable, foldable umbrella comprising: a main or center pole comprising large and small diameter pipes fitted with each other for slidable movement and a spring for coupling said large and small diameter pipes; middle and lower rings slidably fitted over said center pole and spaced apart from each other by means of a spring for automatically opening the umbrella; a plurality of main ribs fixed to an upper ring fixed to the upper end of said large diameter pipe of said center pole, a plurality of supporting ribs pivoted at one end to said middle ring and pivoted at the otherv end to said main ribs respectively; a plurality of auxiliary ribs pivoted at one end to said lower ring and pivoted at the other end to said supporting ribs respectively; a resilient member disposed within said small diameter pipe of said center pole and having large and small pawls which may be freely extended beyond said small diameter pipe and withdrawn therein for releasable engagement with said large diameter pipe and said lower ring; each of said main ribs being comprised of a U-shaped rib, one end of which is pivotally fixed to said fixed upper ring, and a round rib which is supported by said supporting rib and is slidably fitted into said U-shaped rib; and a receiving member for receiving therein the ends of said main ribs, said receiving member being axially slidably fitted over said small diameter pipe of said center pole and provided with engaging means for engagement with said large pawl of said resilient member, and spring means for urging said receiving member into a position wherein said engaging means is engaged by said large pawl.

2. An automatically openable, foldable umbrella as set forth in claim 1 wherein said receiving member is formed with a groove and a tapered guide surface in order to automatically receive or insert said main rib lower ends into said groove.

3. An automatically openable, foldable umbrella as set forth in claim 1 wherein said spring interposed between said middle and lower rings comprises a pair of upper and lower coiled springs arranged in end-to-end relation, the directions of the windings of said upper and lower coiled springs being op posite.

4. An automatically openable, foldable umbrella as set forth in claim 1 wherein a damping spring is fitted over said center pole immediately below said fixed upper ring, the lower end of said damping spring being free and being engageable by said middle ring during opening of said umbrella. 

1. An automatically openable, foldable umbrella comprising: a main or center pole comprising large and small diameter pipes fItted with each other for slidable movement and a spring for coupling said large and small diameter pipes; middle and lower rings slidably fitted over said center pole and spaced apart from each other by means of a spring for automatically opening the umbrella; a plurality of main ribs fixed to an upper ring fixed to the upper end of said large diameter pipe of said center pole, a plurality of supporting ribs pivoted at one end to said middle ring and pivoted at the other end to said main ribs respectively; a plurality of auxiliary ribs pivoted at one end to said lower ring and pivoted at the other end to said supporting ribs respectively; a resilient member disposed within said small diameter pipe of said center pole and having large and small pawls which may be freely extended beyond said small diameter pipe and withdrawn therein for releasable engagement with said large diameter pipe and said lower ring; each of said main ribs being comprised of a U-shaped rib, one end of which is pivotally fixed to said fixed upper ring, and a round rib which is supported by said supporting rib and is slidably fitted into said U-shaped rib; and a receiving member for receiving therein the ends of said main ribs, said receiving member being axially slidably fitted over said small diameter pipe of said center pole and provided with engaging means for engagement with said large pawl of said resilient member, and spring means for urging said receiving member into a position wherein said engaging means is engaged by said large pawl.
 2. An automatically openable, foldable umbrella as set forth in claim 1 wherein said receiving member is formed with a groove and a tapered guide surface in order to automatically receive or insert said main rib lower ends into said groove.
 3. An automatically openable, foldable umbrella as set forth in claim 1 wherein said spring interposed between said middle and lower rings comprises a pair of upper and lower coiled springs arranged in end-to-end relation, the directions of the windings of said upper and lower coiled springs being opposite.
 4. An automatically openable, foldable umbrella as set forth in claim 1 wherein a damping spring is fitted over said center pole immediately below said fixed upper ring, the lower end of said damping spring being free and being engageable by said middle ring during opening of said umbrella. 